10:08pm: The team officially announced the Batum signing in a press release and the Tucker signing in a separate release.
9:43pm: After clearing waivers following his release by the Hornets, veteran free agent forward Nicolas Batum will sign with the Clippers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Batum’s intention to sign with Los Angeles was initially reported by Charania after he was officially waived by Charlotte. The 31-year-old wing was a solid three-and-D contributor in his prime with the Trail Blazers and Hornets, but his production noticeably declined after he signed a five-year, $120MM extension with the Hornets in 2016.
Across his 12 NBA seasons, the 6’9″ swingman holds career averages of 11.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.8 APG, 0.9 APG, and 0.6 APG in 31.3 MPG. He is a career 35.7% shooter on 4.4 attempts a night from three-point land, and is shooting 84.1% from the charity stripe. Batum was a part-time player for the first time in his career in 2019/20, suiting up for just 22 games with the Hornets.
The Clippers are no doubt hoping Batum can conjure a semblance of this output in a fraction of the minutes for a championship contender led by star swingmen Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Batum is set to compete with fellow free agent wing Rayjon Tucker for reserve minutes, as Charania adds in a separate tweet that the Clippers will also sign Tucker. It’s an Exhibit 10 contract for Tucker, per Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
The 23-year-old shooting guard, who split his college eligibility between Florida Gulf Coast and Little Rock, went undrafted in 2019. He played for the Bucks’ G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, to start the 2019/20 NBA season. He then signed on with the Jazz for the remainder of the season. Between stints with the Herd and Utah’s G League club, the Salt Lake City Stars, Tucker played 19 G League games.
Tucker averaged 23.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, and 0.9 SPG in the G League. He posted a slash line of .472/.361/.713. The 6’5″ wing was awarded December 2019’s G League Player of the Month honors, and netted an Eastern Conference Midseason All-NBA G League selection.
A defensive specialist at the next level, Tucker played 20 regular season games for the Jazz, averaging 8.1 MPG. Earlier this offseason, the Jazz traded Tucker to the Cavaliers, who subsequently waived him.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
He was never great on offense, but his defense is solid. Much better than Harrell’s.
Harrell couldn’t get guard a lamppost
He ain’t that old. Wonder if he’s still got something left in the tank. Clipps gave him chance to prove.
I was maybe asleep i did not see this when he was still playing pretty good…
IMO
Harrell defense is better than Batum
Harrell B-
Batum C+
Wolves 3 rotation players C-
Wolves 7 rotation players D
Harrell
Is strong,
has 7’4 wing span
works hard on defense
uses his body wisely
Did you see Harrel play defense? He was crap. Batum is a better defender , passer, and space the floor better. Harrel is better in rebounding and energy .
Dxit90a in playoffs yes but not in regular season. Largely overlooked especially in Vogel’s system he will be great
he was a horrible defender all year lol. Doesn’t work hard one bit on defense so that’s hilarious as well…
You got 5 likes, maybe, you were right about batum being a better defender…
“Harrell defense is better than Batum”. Classic Sillivan.
Yeah it’s hard to fathom how anyone could think Harrell is a good defensive player. He couldn’t even get on the floor against the Nuggets because Jokic kept eating him.
Jokic eats just about every player in the league, hence why he is the best center in the league, so it isn’t a shame to be destroyed by Jokic, actually all the opposite!
Harrell can’t shoot, rebound well, or defend very well. Look at his playoffs results. He was found out
Ya but he brings a lot of energy. Kind of reminds me of manimal, but with more offense. Definitely not a bad 3rd big in a 3 man rotation.
Harrell and Faried are very much alike. It’s probably safe to assume that Montrezl will be out of the NBA in 4 or 5 years, if not sooner. I have no doubt the Lakers will regret signing him after their defense dramatically worsens this season.
With Gasol turning 36 soon, and his level of play dropping greatly even when he’s healthy enough to be on the court, Harrell will have to play more minutes at center than his teammates. AD always prefers to play PF, and even though Harrell brings energy and scoring to the 2nd unit, his shortcomings on defense will offset whatever positives he brings to the team.
He’s an efficient scorer. His FGe is good. His 3PT FG is decent too. His FT is solid. And yes he plays good D. He’s solid to have on bench. Considering they got him for nothing. It’s a good signing.
I would be a top 20 nba player if I have Harrell body
About me
Float like butterfly
Passing like LaMelo Ball
Shooting like Steph Curry
You’re growing on me.
All the casual experts will be blown away when Batum gives LA crucial minutes in the playoffs.
Dude is a great multi-skilled player. If he can stay healthy, he can be a difference maker off the bench, and can start in a pinch.
Batum is a good defender, a good rebounder for his size and a good passer. He just got the yips when it comes to his own offense.
Even if you want to discount last season bc of injuries, he’s been steadily declining in production the last four. There’s nothing casual about being skeptical of a guy with 4 straight seasons of decline going into his age 32 season
He could have a bounce back year, sure – maybe it was the water in Charlotte. But it’s just as likely he’s out of the rotation come April-May.
Eh. His production has been trending downwards, but that’s normal. And it overlooks the fact his seasons are often interrupted with injuries.
Put him in the floor 15 minutes a night against other bench players, with decent talent around him? Way different than being a starter in Charlotte.
If he’s healthy, there’s every reason to think he’ll be a difference maker. But we’ll see. :)
When he was in his mid 20’s Batum was Julius Erving once every 10 games. The other nine games he was Julius the haberdasher. Ah, what might have been if his engine had burner hotter.
Why must you throw shade on Julius the haberdasher? Smh guy earns a living
Yes “Little” you’re keeerect. Old Juli earns his karats (carrots?). I’ll desist.
Who u calling little
I loved that early 2010’s blazers team with Batum,Matthews,Aldridge,Lillard on 2k..fun, too bad they didnt get far